Nelson Vargas

With Carlos Valderrama off with the Colombian National Team, the Fusion moved Diego Serna to Valderrama's forward position and gave midfielder Kris Kelderman his first start against Tampa Bay Thursday night "I'm excited about being inserted into the lineup," Kelderman said before the game. "Now I need to make the most of the opportunity." Kelderman brings experience to the lineup. In two seasons with D.C. United, Kelderman appeared in 42 regular season games with three goals and seven assists.

The Fusion made the first of what is expected to be several offseason moves Wednesday by waiving defender Francis Okaroh and midfielders Nelson Vargas and Mauricio Rocha. They had been used sparingly since Ray Hudson became coach. The contract of midfielder Martin Machon has expired, and it is likely he will join a club in Mexico. Machon's 16 assists this year set a Fusion season record. "These decisions are always agonizing, especially when you're dealing with a classy veteran like Francis, a longtime contributor like Nelson and a young prospect like Maurizio," Hudson said.

New York-New Jersey goalkeeper Tony Meola didn't play Tuesday night in the MetroStars' 4-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids. Meola's altercations with Fusion forwards Jason Boyce and Diego Serna during Saturday's 3-1 loss at Lockhart Stadium apparently were too severe for the Major League Soccer's Disciplinary Committee to overlook. Meola was suspended before Tuesday night's game and fined $1,500 for major game misconduct and unsportsmanlike conduct. Following a goal by Fusion's Carlos Valderrama late in the game, Meola charged referee Robert Sheker to protest.

Opportunity has been knocking for Fusion midfielder Nelson Vargas. But each time a chance to stay a starter had come his way, something else intervened. Now it seems his turn as a fixture among the starting 11 has arrived. "I'm comfortable, but mostly I'm very happy that I have the opportunity to play," Vargas said. "I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, because I've had plenty of opportunities to play before in the past two seasons, actually the last four, in Major League Soccer."

Nelson Vargas came to the Fusion with expectations of being a starter. Unfortunately for the midfielder, it hasn't happened. Vargas makes his first start since May 28 at Colorado, when the Fusion plays the Wizards today at 3 p.m. at Kansas City. "I've had the same skills all my life, but I never got a chance to show it," Vargas said. "It was frustrating for me. I felt like I was in a rut." Vargas, 24, was drafted by the Fusion in the sixth round of the 1998 Major League Soccer expansion draft.

The Fusion made the first of what is expected to be several offseason moves Wednesday by waiving defender Francis Okaroh and midfielders Nelson Vargas and Mauricio Rocha. They had been used sparingly since Ray Hudson became coach. The contract of midfielder Martin Machon has expired, and it is likely he will join a club in Mexico. Machon's 16 assists this year set a Fusion season record. "These decisions are always agonizing, especially when you're dealing with a classy veteran like Francis, a longtime contributor like Nelson and a young prospect like Maurizio," Hudson said.

The status of injured Fusion forward Diego Serna will be re-evaluated this week. Serna, the team's all-time leading scorer with 21 goals and 11 assists, was thought to be lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Fusion Managing Director Doug Hamilton said Saturday that the swelling in Serna's knee has reduced and there is hope that the injury may not be as severe as first thought. Hamilton said Serna will miss several games and that it is too early to decide that he has been lost for the season.

For the Fusion, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. With four or five players listed as forwards and only two starting spots available, there is a healthy amount of competition and controversy about coach Ivo Wortmann starting decisions. Eric Wynalda looked unhappy he didn't start in a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy last Saturday. He refused to speak with reporters after Wednesday's practice, and learned he wouldn't start against the New England Revolution on Saturday.

Losing is beginning to take its toll on the Fusion. With each loss, coach Ivo Wortmann's job becomes more difficult as the players' confidence wanes. Following Saturday's 3-1 setback to D.C. United, a sense of frustration permeated the Fusion locker room. Four straight losses, seven in 10 games, can do that to a team. "It's the same old thing," midfielder Jim Rooney said. "No team is worried about coming in [Lockhart Stadium] and playing us. We have our chance to show heart, make a fight for it and we don't do it for 90 minutes.

Help Wanted. Local professional soccer team desperately looking for a productive midfielder. Individual must have ability to send through balls to forwards. So to whom will Fusion coach Ivo Wortmann turn? And has he exhausted his resources as to offensive combinations? Wortmann has used several forward combinations with little results. A frontline of Eric Wynalda, Roy Lassiter and Diego Serna debuted against the MetroStars five games ago, producing three goals ... but none since. Andy Williams, Henry Gutierrez and Martin Machon have been interchanged as playmaker but have only two assists to show for it. "I can't blame any player, but as a coach I have to find a solution," Wortmann said.

For the Fusion, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. With four or five players listed as forwards and only two starting spots available, there is a healthy amount of competition and controversy about coach Ivo Wortmann starting decisions. Eric Wynalda looked unhappy he didn't start in a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy last Saturday. He refused to speak with reporters after Wednesday's practice, and learned he wouldn't start against the New England Revolution on Saturday.

Help Wanted. Local professional soccer team desperately looking for a productive midfielder. Individual must have ability to send through balls to forwards. So to whom will Fusion coach Ivo Wortmann turn? And has he exhausted his resources as to offensive combinations? Wortmann has used several forward combinations with little results. A frontline of Eric Wynalda, Roy Lassiter and Diego Serna debuted against the MetroStars five games ago, producing three goals ... but none since. Andy Williams, Henry Gutierrez and Martin Machon have been interchanged as playmaker but have only two assists to show for it. "I can't blame any player, but as a coach I have to find a solution," Wortmann said.

Major League Soccer may be holding the trump card regarding Fusion forward Roy Lassiter. Lassiter, who hasn't reported to the Fusion's training camp, is holding out until his contract with the league is revamped. Lassiter is earning $100,000 per season and is asking the league to double his yearly earnings. The league has offered Lassiter $130,000. National team coach Bruce Arena said Tuesday he doesn't see Lassiter playing for the national team at this time. "If he was here training I would have considered him," Arena said.

Tyrone Marshall's dejection showed the bitter defeat. His sixth-round shot in a shootout had just been stopped by keeper Tom Presthus, ending the Fusion's season with a 1-0 loss to D.C. United in an Eastern Conference semifinal at Lockhart Stadium on Sunday. United, which won the shootout 3-2, beat the Fusion for the eighth straight time, dating back to last year's playoffs. "It's one of the things, either you make it or he's going to save," Marshall said. "[Presthus] is a big keeper, so what I was trying to do was make him go down.

The status of injured Fusion forward Diego Serna will be re-evaluated this week. Serna, the team's all-time leading scorer with 21 goals and 11 assists, was thought to be lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Fusion Managing Director Doug Hamilton said Saturday that the swelling in Serna's knee has reduced and there is hope that the injury may not be as severe as first thought. Hamilton said Serna will miss several games and that it is too early to decide that he has been lost for the season.

Honduran forward Saul Martinez came off the bench in the second half, scoring two goals to lead the Fusion to a 2-0 victory over the MetroStars Saturday at Lockhart Stadium. The victory moved the Fusion (9-13, 21 points) into third place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Mutiny (9-12, 19 points). The Fusion has won five of its past six games. The Mutiny plays at D.C. United today at 2 p.m. "As a coach I feel great when I have players who listen at halftime and go into the second half and change the game," Ivo Wortmann said.

Opportunity has been knocking for Fusion midfielder Nelson Vargas. But each time a chance to stay a starter had come his way, something else intervened. Now it seems his turn as a fixture among the starting 11 has arrived. "I'm comfortable, but mostly I'm very happy that I have the opportunity to play," Vargas said. "I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, because I've had plenty of opportunities to play before in the past two seasons, actually the last four, in Major League Soccer."

Major League Soccer may be holding the trump card regarding Fusion forward Roy Lassiter. Lassiter, who hasn't reported to the Fusion's training camp, is holding out until his contract with the league is revamped. Lassiter is earning $100,000 per season and is asking the league to double his yearly earnings. The league has offered Lassiter $130,000. National team coach Bruce Arena said Tuesday he doesn't see Lassiter playing for the national team at this time. "If he was here training I would have considered him," Arena said.

Losing is beginning to take its toll on the Fusion. With each loss, coach Ivo Wortmann's job becomes more difficult as the players' confidence wanes. Following Saturday's 3-1 setback to D.C. United, a sense of frustration permeated the Fusion locker room. Four straight losses, seven in 10 games, can do that to a team. "It's the same old thing," midfielder Jim Rooney said. "No team is worried about coming in [Lockhart Stadium] and playing us. We have our chance to show heart, make a fight for it and we don't do it for 90 minutes.

Despite some rough edges, the Fusion prevailed without Carlos Valderrama on Saturday against the Kansas City Wizards. The effect of a week that had Valderrama being traded, then staying and finally being sent to the Tampa Bay Mutiny will be tested over time. The Fusion got off to a good start to overcome that trauma with a 1-0 victory against the Wizards. The Wizards (0-6) were hardly world-beaters and neither are the Mutiny, the Fusion's opponent this Saturday. The Fusion has won two in a row, however, without the Colombian midfielder in the lineup.